News

The latest product to emerge from the Centre's unique blend of social innovation and peacebuilding endeavours is a partnership between affiliated organizations: the Tamarack Institute recently joined Local Futures to launch a new community of practice. Their exploration of multi-sector collaboration is laying the groundwork for more fruitful networks across Canada. 

Local Futures staff Jon Beale and Laura Carr-Pries visited New York as Canadian delegates to the United Nations at the 2026 High Level Political Forum (HLPF). Results from Canada’s side-event and other panel discussions reveal that local efforts and initiatives are key to implementing the SDGs.

In July, a team of University of Waterloo students travelled to Oxford University to compete alongside finalists from 19 countries in the 2026 Global Final of Map the System. 

Nearly 100 guests attended the launch of the Grebel Gallery’s latest exhibit: 50 Years of Turning Swords Into Ploughshares. Created by Project Ploughshares to honour the peacebuilding organization’s 50th anniversary, this exhibit guides viewers through a visual timeline of milestones in Ploughshares’ history. 

New Grebel Peace Incubator participant, Women and Peace Studies Organization - Canada (WPSO), illuminates the critical role of women in building peace and community wellbeing.

Groupthink Labs is a newer member of the Grebel Peace Incubator that enables groups to make decisions more efficiently and equitably.

Members of the UWaterloo community marked Red Dress Day with the Office of Indigenous Relations and Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office and an art exhibit and Call 30 workshop with MCC Indigenous Neighbours at the Grebel Gallery.

Call for proposals is open for the 2026 Build Peace conference, bringing peacebuilders, technologists, and artists from around the world to UWaterloo this November.

The Peace Innovators Scholarship and Mentoring Program has supported and encouraged youth to respond to issues they’ve recognized in their communities and create small scale solutions. On April 16th, Peace Innovators hosted their showcase where 15 high school students participated, each with their own unique project. 

For the month of April, the Grebel Gallery featured art by Nina Bailey-Dick. 10 years worth of her artwork all tied to one concept: the sky.